Tablets with surround sound? "Sounds" too good to be true!!!

Taken from:

http://tablet-news.com/2014/03/23/dolby-will-bring-surround-sound-to-tablets-and-smartphones/

So ... Dolby technologies is working on an algorithm to make tablets have sound that seems to be in front of you, behind you, to your left and to your right - or ... if you will - a 3D sound effect.  

This sounds like a great idea for much improved sound on tablet computers!!!

Virtual Reality - coming closer

We've had promises of virtual reality for years.  This comes from this article:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-19/with-oculus-rift-and-project-morpheus-a-virtual-battleground-may-finally-be-here

The concept of virtual reality is that through wearing some special devices (goggles / glasses) technology can 'trick' the person into thinking they are in a different world.  We might think of Avatar, or the Matrix when we think of virtual reality.  There was a (poor) virtual world in Second Life.

For gamers, virtual reality is a long hoped for concept.  Playing games where your character runs, jumps, etc - and living in a game where YOU run and jump are two different things.  

This article highlights some recent advances by a company called Oculus Rift make virtual reality more of a 'reality' as the graphics, motions are coming closer to human movements.  

But, not to be outdone, Sony is also moving farther into the VR world.  For game players, this can really be a 'game changer'!!!!

Pandora Stock Rally

Taken from:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-13/pandoras-stock-rally-isnt-solving-its-problems

The market seems to like Pandora under the new leadership.  As the article notes:

Brian McAndrews has been on a Wall Street honeymoon. Since he became chief executive officer of Pandora Media (P) in September, the stock price of the music streaming service has jumped about 60 percent, tacking on roughly $3 billion in market value, and the company brought in $400 million from a share sale.

But ... the product isn't much different than it was last September.  It needs paid subscribers to the music service - and it needs concessions and agreements from the music companies - and neither one is happening all that quickly.  (On a personal note - I used to be a big Pandora user; but have gone with Spotify now - it just seems easier and more user friendly than Pandora).

So ... while Brian McAndrews might be on the right track with Pandora, it seems like it will take time before it really works!!  (I liken that to the old adage, you can't turn an aircraft carrier around quickly).

When Robots Dance

Taken from: 

http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars-and-provocateurs/the-robot-the-revolution/30380.article?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03182014

Yes, robots are part of our future.  In reality, robots are already part of our life.  Cars are made with industrial robots - assembling, welding, painting and more.  

The traditional view of human / robot interaction is more like C3PO and R2D2 in Star Wars - a gold robot humanoid 'geek' that isn't all that helpful and a very helpful but very mechanical looking device that only communicates with beeps and sounds.  This article suggests that robots are making the switch to more flexible and human motions and more fluid interaction with humans.  

Yes, the robots are coming - but they might just fit into the human world nicely!!! 

Apple Smartwatch???

Taken from: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/apple-smartwatch-iwatch-rumors-specs-watch,26303.html

and from: http://www.smartwatchnews.org/top-5-smart-watches/

I've worn a wristwatch (aka "watch") since I was 15.  I could keep track of time on my paper route so I could get home in time to head to school.  In school (especially for boring classes), I could check my watch every few minutes (gee - I hope none of my students does that).  

I've generally gone for simple (and cheap).  My current watch is a Timex - I think about $14.95 - and has lasted for years.  I don't even remember if I've changed the battery.

BUT... it might be time for a smartphone watch - (really just called a smartwatch). The first link (above) suggests a watch for fitness (count steps, heart rate, and exercise monitoring).  

The article suggests (since all of this is speculations):

Patent filings also point to data and image processors, a camera, support for playing audio files, facial recognition, voice control and authentication, and telephony.

The item from that list that sticks out is "facial recognition" - do they mean the user's face - so I bend my wrist to my face - and it logs me on?  Or other faces?  (aka some "Google Glasses" facial recognition).

At this stage, the market has several smartwatches (see second article attached above).

If and when it comes out - will people buy it (my answer - of course, it is an Apple product!!0

Distance Education - why

I have been a college educator since 1978 (that's 36 years).  Since 1995, I've taught online classes.  I have created my own webpages, my own online assessment and quizzes - long before CMS (course management systems) like Blackboard existed (but ... Blackboard does make things easier).  

In recent years, those online courses have become online programs.  Without actual numbers, 'almost' every campus in the United States seems to do distance education.  My former institution first delivered online courses in the summer to balance the desire of students to take summer classes - but be at home with a summer job.  The campus realized that students could take summer classes at local community colleges (talking mostly about general education) - but thought they could keep the campus faculty busy (and happy with summer checks) and enhance their revenue.

Success in the online courses naturally lead to more courses and to online programs.  My previous campus (note - I retired and I am a 'professor emeritus' from the campus) offers online programs only for graduate degrees currently (and I agree with that concept).  

The concept is that:

1. Additional education is good
2. An addtitional DEGREE is even better
3. And ... being able to take courses and the entire program from home (or work or wherever) is very attractive.
4. And ... the quality is considered equivalent

Traditional master's programs:

1. The person works until 5:00 (or 5:30)
2. Drives thru a fast-food restaurant - getting a beverage with extra caffeine (to stay awake through the night class)
3. Goes to campus
4. Circles the parking lot for 15 minutes to find a place to park (and either ends up at a very distant lot and walking, finding a close place, or being late to class once he/she finds a place)
5. Sits in class for three hours 
1. The fast food is churning in his / her stomach
2. The caffeinated beverage is keeping him / her awake
6. Leaves class and drives home - getting home about 10:30 p.m.
7. Dreads the early morning alarm 
8. Can't fall asleep - the caffeine is still in his/her system - and the intellectual ideas are flowing 

More on distance education upcoming

Business Intelligence

One of my MIS 374 Teams is working with a company that is using Tableau software for visual analysis and business intelligence (see: http://www.tableausoftware.com/) 

One of the big challenges in Business Intelligence is to get appropriate data - but to analyze it appropriately.  When I worked at Citibank, one of my projects was in capacity planning.  I analyzed processing time against data growth over a period of time and attempted to forecast when additional capacity would be needed.  (Of course, Moore's Law really handled the additional capacity issue with new hardware - but my analysis did help with that planning).

Business Intelligence promises so much - but it does depend on appropriate data AND appropriate analysis.  Tableau's strength seems to be in the presentation of the analysis - visual presentation (i.e. what has been called the "Balanced Scorecard" approach).  Independent reviews seem to suggest that Tableau meets those needs and helps the companies (and analysts) to find those concepts that may lead to trends and to information that can give a competitive advantage.

Bitcoin news

Taken from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/bitcoin/2014/03/08/0b1ad2f0-a631-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html

The article noted:

Future generations of Bitcoin billionaires may someday look back on 2014 with knowing smiles. Here was a year when thefts spread, exchanges collapsed, rates gyrated like a teenager’s moods. And yet the buying of bitcoins showed no signs of abating.

The past week was particularly extreme. The apparent suicide of an American business executive in Singapore was investigated for possible ties to her Bitcoin investments. A California man fingered as the currency's mysterious inventor reacted to his sudden fame by asking that journalists buy him lunch. After finishing his meal at a sushi restaurant, he went on to deny any role whatsoever in Bitcoin.

Perhaps the most surprising development was that the virtual currency, despite wild fluctuations in value, continued to weather the mayhem. As the humans involved in the adventure looked increasingly vulnerable, Bicoin looked comparatively solid, trading nearly 10 percent higher Saturday than a week before. Each bitcoin is worth more than $600 in recent trading.

“Bitcoin works really well,” said Matthew Green, a Johns Hopkins University cryptographer who is working to develop a different virtual currency. “All this craziness around Bitcoin isn’t around Bitcoin itself. It’s around the people.”

Bitcoin, first issued in 2009, has gradually gained acceptance as a digital currency that, unlike dollars or euros, can move through the global trade system with low fees, relative privacy and no regulation. That has helped it flourish among technology enthusiasts and libertarians, as well as on marketplaces for illicit drugs and weapons.

I think these are interesting times for Bitcoin.  Can it weather the storm?  Can it survive as the world's first (?) and best (?) virtual currency?

Mt. Gox - a Japanese Bitcoin trading agency - declared bankruptcy after hackers stole bitcoins - but seemingly the virtual currency has been able to survive that problem.  Hackers seem able to steal codes for the currency - but not sure how widespread the problem is.

We'll try to follow the story as it progresses!!!

More on data security breaches

In all of business (especially for risk), a company has to do an appropriate cost/benefit analysis.  If a data breach is a probability, then the company has to put controls in place - such as encryption, off-line data backups, appropriate information security policies.

As an expert recently said "Perfect security is infinitely expensive".

It is like insurance - if my dog is known to bite, then as a dog owner, I need to buy dog biting insurance.  Likewise, if I have a lot of personally identifiable information for my company on my corporate laptop; then I need to have better protection for that data.

In a similar fashion, if my dog is the meekest dog on the planet, maybe I don't need dog biting insurance; (or .. if I don't have personally identifiable information on my laptop, maybe I don't need to encrypt all data). 

Target's Revenues Down by $440 million after Data Breach

Taken from:  http://nypost.com/2014/02/26/targets-profits-down-46-after-data-breach/

The article noted:

Target reported a profit drop of $440 million for its fiscal fourth quarter as a result of the credit card breach on Wednesday.

Profit fell to $520 million, or 81 cents a share, from $961 million, or $1.47 a share, a year earlier. Total revenue fell 5.3 percent to $21.52 billion.

The company reported adjusted profit of $1.30 a share, at the top end of its prior guidance range of $1.20 to $1.30 a share.

Data security is a major aspect of IT.  In this case, Target is a big company, but in some cases for smaller company, such a data breach could permanently damage the company and take it into failure.

In many cases, it is expected that the company that has the data breach (i.e. credit card information stolen), must pay for credit monitoring, for restoration / resolution of the breach - paying for the purchases that were made on the stolen cards and more.  Those expenses can be significant.

And ... on the intangible side of things - this damages the companies reputation.

This link: http://business.financialpost.com/2014/02/26/beware-big-brother-culture-will-have-adverse-effect-on-creativity-productivity/

Target quickly went into damage-control mode, launching a full investigation, apologizing profusely and offering some consumers a year of free credit monitoring to compensate for any potential financial data that may have been compromised. But the damage to Target’s reputation had already been done.

So ... to save actual funds and to save reputation - be serious about your information security!!!